What is Cornerstone and is it the right HCM platform for your organisation?

Cornerstone is a cloud-based Human Capital Management (HCM) platform best known for its learning and talent management capabilities.

With strong foundations in learning and development, performance management, and employee growth, Cornerstone supports organisations looking to build high-performing, future-ready workforces.

Now part of the broader Clearlake Capital portfolio, Cornerstone has evolved into a comprehensive HCM suite that includes recruitment, onboarding, performance, learning, and workforce planning. It’s often shortlisted by organisations prioritising employee development, compliance training, and upskilling as part of their workforce strategy.

This page outlines Cornerstone’s key features, who it’s best suited for, and how to assess whether it aligns with your organisational goals.

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Key features of Cornerstone HCM

  • Talent acquisition and onboarding workflows
  • Learning management system (LMS) with compliance, certification, and upskilling
  • Performance reviews, goals, and development planning
  • Succession planning and leadership readiness
  • Skills management and personalised learning journeys
  • HR analytics and workforce insights
  • Mobile-enabled access and modern user experience
  • Integrates with third-party HRIS, payroll, and ERP systems

Which organisations is Cornerstone best suited for?

Cornerstone is typically a strong fit for:

  • Mid-sized to enterprise organisations with a strong focus on learning and performance
  • Businesses in regulated industries with formal training and compliance requirements
  • HR teams looking to unify talent acquisition, learning, and development
  • Organisations investing in leadership pipelines and workforce capability
  • Sectors including healthcare, education, government, professional services, and energy

Pros and cons of Cornerstone HCM

Where Cornerstone delivers value:

  • Market-leading learning and development platform
  • Scalable for global organisations and multi-business units
  • Supports continuous learning and personalised employee growth
  • Strong compliance tracking for regulated sectors
  • Modular design allows phased rollout based on business priorities

Where it may fall short:

  • Core HR functionality is less comprehensive than full-suite HCM platforms
  • May require integration with separate payroll or workforce management tools
  • Some modules have steeper learning curves depending on configuration
  • Not ideal for businesses seeking a lightweight or all-in-one HRIS

Alternatives to Cornerstone

Depending on your HR strategy and organisational priorities, alternatives to Cornerstone may include:

  • Workday – for unified HCM, planning, and talent in one enterprise-grade platform
  • SAP SuccessFactors – strong for global HR compliance and structured learning
  • Oracle HCM – comprehensive HCM suite with deep workforce analytics
  • ELMO – for mid-sized ANZ businesses needing a local LMS and performance tools
  • Ceridian Dayforce – if payroll, rostering, and compliance are key drivers

Compare these in our Human Capital Management Solutions Guide.

Planning your Cornerstone HCM journey

Whether you’re considering Cornerstone for the first time or reviewing your existing learning and performance tools, SMC can help guide your strategy.

Expert insights from SMC

At Solution Minds Consulting, we’ve helped organisations across government, education, energy, healthcare, and professional services assess and implement platforms like Cornerstone.

Cornerstone is often the right choice when learning, leadership development, or workforce compliance are strategic priorities. But like any platform, success depends on alignment with organisational goals, change readiness, and long-term digital capability.

Our independent, vendor-neutral approach ensures your HCM investment supports real outcomes – not just software implementation.

Explore our services for HCM Selection and Digital Strategy and Roadmaps.